Woven narrow web with ornamental selvage



Oct. 13, 1964 c. F LIBBY 3,152,620

WOVEN NARROW was WITH ORNAMENTAL. SELVAGE Filed Sept. 26, 1962 2Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

FIG. 2

INVENTOR. CARL F. LIBBY ATTORNEYS Oct. 13, 1964 c. F. LlBBY WOVEN NARROWWEB WITH ORNAMENTAL SELVAGE Filed Sept. 26, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.3

INVENTOR. CARL F. LIBBY ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,152,620 WOVENNARROW WEB WITH ORNAMENTAL SELVAGE Carl F. Libby, Stoughton, Mass,assignor to John D.

Riordan, Hopkinton, and Gertrude C. Libby, Stoughton, Mass, trustees ofthe Libby family trusts Filed Sept. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 226,349 7 Claims.(Cl. 139384) This invention is a continuation-in-part of my copendingapplication Serial No. 205,298, filed June 26, 1962, now U. S. PatentNo. 3,126,920, issued March 31, 1964, for Mechanism for Making a FancySelvage on Narrow Webbing. The invention relates to narrow webs such asare woven by thrusting successive loops of weft yarn through the warpshed after each change of the shed as shown, for example, in US. PatentNo. 2,180,831, granted November 21, 1939. Weft yarns may be thrustthrough the shed from one or both sides according as one or twoweft-laying fingers are employed. By way of example, a loom having butone weft-laying finger is hereinafter described. In weaving this type ofweb with one weft-laying finger, the picks are successive loops of weftyarn which are thrust through the shed and the end end of each loop iscaught and retained at the other edge of the fabric while the finger isretracted and the shed changes. A knitting needle is usually employed tocatch the end of each loop from the weft-laying finger and to knit itthrough the end of the previous loop then on the shank of the needle.Each loop of weft yarn (pick) which is thrust through the shed consistsof an inward leg and an outward leg. These legs lie side by side at thefell of the fabric when the loop is beaten up by the reeds and they arelocked there by the change of shed. The next loop of weft yarn is thenprojected through the shed by the finger, the yarn from the outward legof the previous loop turning sharply backward to enter the shed as theinward leg of the new loop. These reverse bends of the weft yarn areloops the legs of each of which are the outward leg of one pick and theinward leg of the next pick. These reverse bends or loops form theselvage on the side of the web adjacent to the fingeroperatingmechanism. To prevent the movements of the finger into the shed frompulling the reverse bends in toward the center of the web, which wouldbe apt to cause the margin of the web to wrinkle or pucker, a pin islocated at the near end of the fell of the web in such a way that whenthe finger is retracted from the shed, the weft yarn is carried aboutthe pin as the finger enters the shed again after the change of shed. Byshifting the pin successively toward or from the web, the location ofsuccessive reverse bends of the weft yarn can be varied so that theresulting shape of the selvage can be varied with the formation of anornamental design such, for example, as a scalloped edge. By the use ofsuch apparatus for forming an ornamental selvage, some of the warpthreads adjacent to the selvage follow to some extent the outwarddisplacement of the reverse bends and thus support the loops formed bythe reverse bends.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be hadto the following description thereof, and to the drawings, of whichFIGURE 1 is a plan view of a sample strip of narrow webbing having anornamental selvage embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view of the arrangement of warpand weft yarns in the sample shown in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a partial plan view of a narrow web loom indicating how anornamental selvage is formed in the weaving operation.

"'ice A piece 10 of woven fabric embodying the invention is shown inFIGURE 1. This fabric is composed of warp yarns 12 and weft yarns 14 asindicated in FIGURE 2. The fabric is selvaged, one of the selvages beingformed by loops 16 of filling or weft yarn which extend differentdistances from the longitudinal median of the fabric with the resultthat the selvage is contoured. In machine production the pattern of thecontour will ordinarily be repetitive. FIGURE 1 shows an undulating orscalloped contour with recurring creasts 20 and 22. As hereinafterdescribed, the weaving is done in such a way that one or more edge warpyarns 24 follow the contour of the selvage, the undulations havinglesser amplitudes. Three such warp yarns are illustrated in FIG- URE 2but the number thereof may be one or more as desired. These contouredwarp yarns 24 stiffen the projecting loops of weft yarn and support thescallops against deformation during laundering. Without such support,projecting loops tend to tangle during laundering and to lose theoriginal distinctive contour of the selvage.

The present invention is hereinafter described in terms of narrowfabrics which can be made by projecting successive doubled loops of weftyarn through the warp shed from one or both sides of the shed so thatthe Warp yarns extend under and over even numbers of weft yarns. PatentNo. 2,180,831 illustrates a narrow web of this type woven by projectingloops through the shed from both sides thereof in alternation. The loomillustrated herein is designed to thrust successive loops through thewarp shed from one side only thereof, the shed being changed after eachoperation of the weft-laying finger 30. The weft yarn or filling F comesfrom a suitable source through a guide 32 to a hole 34 in the free endof the finger 30 and thence to the fell of the fabric which is beingwoven. A sweeping movement into and out of the shed is given to the endof the finger 30 by a crank arm 36 to which the finger is pivotallyattached at 38 near its other end. As the crank arm 36 swings around anaxis 40, the finger slides back and forth through a guide member 42which turns about a vertical axis. In timed relation with the movementsof the finger 30, an eccentric 44 turning about the axis 40 reciprocatesthe arm 46 having a pin 48 riding in a slot 50 in a lever 52. The leverrocks about a pivot 54 at one end, the other end being connected to aknitting needle 60 which is located in position to catch the end of theloop of weft yarn F from the end of the finger 30 when the loop isprojected through the shed. As the finger 30 is being thereafterretracted, the loop is retained in the shed and the extremity thereof isknitted through the extremity of the previous loop of weft then on theshank of the needle 60. When the finger 30 has been withdrawn from theshed the shed changes to bind the loop of weft yarn which has just beenlaid, and the finger starts to project the next loop through the shed.Since the projection of a loop of yarn through the shed requires thatthe yarn slide quickly through the hole 34, the frictional drag of theyarn pulls on the portion leading to the hole from the selvage on thenear side of the fabric, that is, the side from which the finger isprojected through the shed. This pull tends to draw the selvage inward.To prevent this, the yarn at the fell of the fabric is made to passaround a vertical pin 62, thus forming a reverse loop 16 (FIGURE 2) whenthe finger 30 moves into the warp shed. When the finger is beingretracted, the pin 62 is lifted clear of the reverse loop 16 and is thenmoved forward and downward to catch the weft yarn for the next reverseloop as the finger leaves the shed and starts to reenter it. If theseare the only movements of the pin 62, the selvage on the near side isstraight, but by moving the pin 62 horizontally, the lengths of thereverse loops of weft yarn can be varied. The forward and rearward andup and down movements of the pin 62 are caused by an eccentric on ashaft 64 revolving in an eccentric strap 66 to which is attached the arm68 carrying the pin 62. The shaft 64 revolves in timed relation with theother moving parts of the loom. Sidewise horizontal movements of the pin62 are caused by a cam 70 on a wheel 72 rotated by a shaft 74. A camfollower 76 is held against the cam by a spring 73 attached to an arm 80which carries the cam follower. A rod 82 connects the arm 80 and the arm68. In the mechanism shown on the drawing the wheel 72 turns slowly sothat the pin 62 is shifted by small increments with each pick of theloom. This results in a wavy or scalloped selvage on the near side ofthe fabric. The edge warp yarns 24 come from the harness (not shown) atan angle to the other warp yarns so that when the reverse loops 16 arelengthened by outward movement of the pin 62, the edge warps 24 followthe outward movement to a lesser extent and are locked in place bychanges of the shed. This results in reinforcement of the extendedreverse loops 16 by the edge warps 24 as illustrated in FIGURE 2. Insome cases, in order to avoid bunching at the troughs 22 of a scallopedselvage, the heddles (not shown) can be operated to raise and lower theedge warp yarns 24 less frequently than the warp yarns in the body ofthe fabric when the fabric is being woven at the troughs 22 so that theunder-and-over frequency of the edge warp yarns with respect to the weftyarns is less at the troughs 22 than at the crests 20. An example ofthis is indicated in FIGURE 2.

The edge warp yarns 24 in the extended reverse loops 16 reinforce theseloops and help to maintain the contour of the selvage when the fabric islaundered. Without such reinforcement and support, the longer reverseloops are easily crushed and tangled in the laundering process so thatthe ornamental contour of the selvage is difiicult to restore.

I claim:

1. A selvaged fabric having a warp some of the yarns of which are edgewarps, said fabric having a weft in which each pick consists of a singlecontinuous thread doubled to form a loop which extends across the fabricand ends at one of the selvages of the fabric, the other selvage beingcomposed of reverse loops of the same single thread extending differentdistances from the median of the fabric, the legs of each said reverseloop being in different picks.

2. A fabric as described in claim 1, in which said other selvage issmoothly contoured.

3. A fabric as described in claim 1, in which said other selvage issmoothly contoured with a repetitive pattern.

4. A fabric as described in claim 1, in which at least one of the edgewarps follows the contour of said other selvage.

5. A fabric as described in claim 1, in which the reverse loops define ascalloped contour.

6. A fabric as described in claim 5, in which some of the edge warpsdefine similar scalloped contours of lesser amplitude.

7. A selvaged woven fabric consisting of warp yarns some of which areedge warps and weft yarns, the warp yarns extending under and over evennumbers of weft yarns, said weft yarns forming loops at one of theselvages extending different distances from the median of the fabric togive said selvage a scalloped contour with alternate crests and troughs,at least one of the edge warps following the contour of said selvage theunder and over frequency of said edge warps at the troughs being lessthan at the crests.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS764,208 Ronsdorf July 5, 1904 1,777,093 Klahre Sept. 30, 1930 FOREIGNPATENTS 363,268 France July 25, 1906 10,623 Great Britain of 1896

1. A SELVAGED FABRIC HAVING A WARP SOME OF THE YARNS OF WHICH ARE EDGEWARPS, SAID FABRIC HAVING A WEFT IN WHICH EACH PICK CONSISTS OF A SINGLECONTINUOUS THREAD DOUBLED TO FORM A LOOP WHICH EXTENDS ACROSS THE FABRICAND ENDS AT ONE OF TH SELVAGES OF THE FABRIC, THE OTHER SELVAGE BEINGCOMPOSED OF REVERSE LOOPS OF THE SAME